


Obsidian

by Hopeless_Minamantic



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Demon & Human Interactions, Demons, F/M, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, SNK Kink Fill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 09:59:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2688614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hopeless_Minamantic/pseuds/Hopeless_Minamantic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For so long they had been the hunted, and for so very long they had been the prey. Not only was it such a surprise that humanity would be pushed back on its last leg, but it was also a surprise that the hunters were without a doubt surprisingly...human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Obsidian

The steel glittered in the sun. It would have seemed impeccable had it not been for the crimson coat it wore. The tip of the blade had been chipped off, and it was a wonder as to how one could have returned when they had to face off against them. The memory was pristine, from the long sunken and broken faces to the strange and inappropriate beauty of the setting sun that washed over the small townhouses and earth. And as the  recon defense force of Shiganshina had returned with that very same chipped sword in hand, he had heard the common talk about ‘The Doctor” and how the man had offered up his own life in order to buy them time.

_“I never thought someone like him could fight like that.”_

_“And here I thought he was just all medicines and alchemy.”_

_“You can’t judge someone from appearance alone. He was wild with a blade!”_ His father, Grisha, had been talked up so much that the man was revered now as a local legend, something that the common people had even began offering prayers in hopes that his spirit would offer them safety and prosperity. It annoyed him, _enraged_ him. Had these people already forgotten? Of course they had. They had taken on an easy, docile life. They had tried their best to ignore the fact that his father had been ripped apart for their sake. His father felt a pain that none of them, not even the lucky few soldiers could even hope to fathom. It made him so very angry, beyond angry.

Eren’s immediate response had been ‘no’. His father had won out and had decided to die dignified, and feared. Even among the demons and their hive minds, there had been a very abstract inkling of individual emotion. Or at least, that was what he had been told. Wasn’t that something on its own?

 _No_ , he fumed. People were prone to exaggeration and the thought of his “mighty” father seemed to be such an embellishment that Eren figured that it was just the towns form of coping. It was a small price to pay, he figured, and even if it made his blood run hot, his father did manage to save a few soldiers, maybe one of which may hold very valuable information on how to repulse the encroaching monstrosities.

“Eren, you’re spacing out again.” And Eren felt the all too familiar and sometimes—most of the time—annoying grasp of Mikasa. “Are you okay?” He turned his head from her with a mumble. “Eren, reconsider.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he mumbled again.

“Maybe not, but your intention is all too clear. You should forget about the Scouting Legion…” His attention snapped immediately to her.

“And let them get away with eating dad alive!?” He fixed her with a venomous stare. She didn’t understand. She never had. At every turn , she made sure to state how foolish it would be for him to follow after the Scouting Legion. They were the ones who ventured through the forest and out into the world and were also the ones who saw an early grave.

“Dad fought for their safety, Eren. He died on his own accord…It’s been three months…” She had made a valid point but his hands still trembled in frustration. He turned his back to her sharply. Mikasa only had the best of intentions in mind. She had talked about protecting him ever since he had met her. Eren nearly choked with sickness at his own ignorance then. Mikasa was familiar with the feeling of losing something close to her. She had lost such a dear thing long before he did. She had all the reason to want to protect him, but it wasn’t as if he couldn't protect himself.

 _I can handle myself. I can slaughter all of those monsters myself…Yeah…_ A sharp hand dug through his tunic cloth and into his shoulder. He was being pulled, stumbling behind Mikasa.

“We shouldn't be talking about this. We’re supposed to be gathering firewood.” Eren gave her another barbed look but she stared back with a face of stone. He had to look away.

“Don’t tell mom you helped, okay?”

* * *

 

The both of them had stepped into the abode then, and Eren felt as though his heart had stopped for a short moment. She had been standing in front of the stove, prepping the evening meal as she usually did. What had stricken him was when she had turned to face them. He had barely even got to step in the door.

“Oh, Eren...” His mother smiled ruefully at him. “You brought back the wood…” He saw her eyes dart over to Mikasa. He had forgotten to take on Mikasa’s weight, but that mattered very little to him. His mother’s eyes were puffy and swollen red. She had been grieving while he and Mikasa had gone out. “Well, I’m very glad that you did as I said, for once…” This wasn’t like her. “That's all I have for you two to do today. Dinner should be ready soon, so why don’t you see what Armin is doing in the meantime?” It definitely wasn’t like her.

“Mom, what’s wrong? You always go on about Armin's 'heresy'...” Carla’s hand tightened around the wooden spoon. She hadn't answered the question.

"Just a little irritation from the food." Eren glanced past her warm expression he knew she'd send him and instead looked to the envelope that sat on the counter a little ways from the sink. The seal of the envelope was that of the Scouting Legion. "Go on," he blinked, disconcerted but righted himself almost immediately. His mother was still smiling, though her face seemed suddenly worn in and so much older. He could only manage to stare at her wordlessly. Eren frowned, and he cast the wood from his shoulder.

"You could at least tell the truth!" He saw how her smile had suddenly faded. Its purported warmness had melted; its absence left a gaunt expression lined with both grief and bewilderment. She wanted to speak but found that she had no words. "I saw them come back! You could at least tell me the truth!" Something dug into his shoulder again. Mikasa. He heard her hiss his name both guardedly and aggressively. She would not quiet him. "This why I'm going to join the Legion! I'll get those monsters! I will! I don't need your approval to kill them all!"

He had definitely gone too far, and his quick temper had placed him under an active and overzealous Mikasa, who had dragged him from the home before hoisting him onto her shoulder. She was all to used to Eren's thrashing and her grip lessened none. She had also grown very used to his demands and his overall whining when his temper flared. Her grip tightened at his effort. It had continued that way for a little while, and almost as abruptly as she had lifted him, she let him down—threw him from her shoulder into...grass. She taken him out into the farming fields on the edge of town. There was always a chance that they could show up to tear the both of them and humanity apart. Nothing had ever crossed the Barrier Forest in quite sometime, in 100 years exactly. The fact sat inkling in the back of his mind.

He shot up, invective and with an indignant expression, but his face seemed to quiver involuntarily. Her glare had outweighed his sour glowering and she found her words far quicker than he did.

"What were you thinking?" Her typical indifference remained. "She's a strong woman...She was just looking for the right time to tell you." She saw the tremor in his eyes and the hurt. Mikasa's expression shifted marginally.

"But she didn't have to make excuses! She could've told me right when I asked her!"

"She didn't want you to worry." Mikasa stated flatly. "Most parents would like their children to live with as little worry as possible." Again, he had tried to hold her gaze and stare her down. And again, he had to look away. Her reason had melted away his anger and it left the sour feeling of shame in his throat. He could still feel her staring at him, her eyes waiting for his response. They were both acutely aware of his effort. It was awkward, to say the least. He spoke quietly.

“Dad's been gone for the past three months. Why she's just now receiving a letter doesn't make any sense. I figured she was waiting for him to come back this whole time, but still, I saw the Legion come back. She could've at least been honest...” Mikasa remained quiet.

“Eren!” His ears wiggled. It was Armin, and he had arrived with perfect timing. He didn’t dare to look to Mikasa. She probably already had him figured out. Armin made his way to them , a bright, beaming grin on his face. Eren’s eyes dropped to the object crossed between his friend's arms.

A book.

“Reading again?” Armin shook his head.

“Not just reading, take a look at this.” His voice seemed to have been sucked back in him as he opened it, revealing something that made the air in Eren’s throat catch.

“Armin, what are you doing with something like this?” Armin’s voice was hushed with a strange reticence. He was very excited about it. Eren watched as Armin’s hand sifted lightly over the thin and yellowed page, tracing over an anatomical analysis of a Vagabond. Eren repeated himself, a little louder.

“Armin,” Armin’s eyes lifted, almost taken aback at how stern Eren had been in that moment. “Vagabonds are demons. They’re the reason why we’ve been forced behind the forests. Why would you have a book on them? Isn’t that sort of thing outlawed?”

“It is,” Mikasa interjected a small edge in her voice. “Neither you or Armin should be toying with these sort of things.” Eren found that he agreed with her. It was strange considering he was so used to clashing with her.

“Yeah. I think you should put that thing away. The Gendarmerie will get you for that you know.” Armin’s eyes lit up then.

“I knew you and Mikasa would agree on something for once, but at least, hear me out…” Armin’s finger brushed over the pages again. “If we find out more about them, then that’s something we could use against them, isn’t it?” Eren and Mikasa both frowned.

“Yeah, but…” Armin cut him off in his excitement.

“I’ve already looked a little bit into it and it seems really promising. Besides, if we get rid of them…” Eren’s hands tightened, finishing the sentence.

“Then, we can see what’s really there, in the outside world.” Armin nodded. The grin that followed was somber, almost as if he didn’t quite believe if the dream were really even possible.

“We can see over every bit of the forest if we step on something high enough but…there’s only so much to see here, or in the forest before it becomes normal. The Vagabond almost never cross the forest but they’ve still gone into it, and that means civilians aren’t even allowed to set foot in the forest.” Eren swallowed awkwardly, but even then, he knew exactly what Armin meant. He understood.

“Armin,” Eren looked down toward the grass. His voice had gone rigid and stern again Armin noted.“I’m going to join the Scouting Legion.” Eren paused, waiting for a response but Armin remained quiet and receptive. “I want to join them not only because I admire them, but…” Again, Eren paused. His father had died, and it had spurred him on even further, to become even more dedicated to join the Legion. He had been angry when he had screamed, howled with fury at his mother. His rage had accepted it because he wanted revenge almost instantly. Now that he was calm, the weight of losing his father had finally began to settle in.

“Eren.” Armin mused.

“They…My father went with them outside this time. He insisted that he go,” Eren felt something like fire behind his eyes. Were those tears? “He didn’t come back.” He finished curtly. “There were soldiers that were talking about it when they came back. That’s why I want to join the Legion.” He had long since began crying but his voice remained steady. In fact, it seemed to grow in strength. Eren lifted his head to Armin, who nearly fell back in amazement at it. Eren’s hand was suddenly in the center of the book’s spine, resting over Armin’s own hand. “And I want to the see the outside world too!” His eyes were piercingly resolute and he knew Armin had seen it. Eren was serious then, as he always had been whenever he claimed he’d do something. But all three of them knew that Armin wasn’t a fool.

“Eren,” His words caught at Eren’s expression. Its edge had waned a bit but it remained tight with emotion all the same. “I…wouldn’t want you to get caught up with that dream.” Eren’s expression fell.

“What are you saying?” Armin frowned again.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. To…associate yourself with someone like me…I think I'd rather stop the both of you from being eaten alive if I could. So... I think I should do this alone.” Eren blinked stupidly.

“Armin, we’ve been through this a bunch of times. We’re your friends, so let us help you. Besides,” he smirked. “The other book you had. It was about the world beyond the forest. It described so many other places…” Eren beamed, taking a hand to ruffle Armin’s hair. “So I’m gonna’ help you!” Armin chuckled despite himself. Eren’s grin was contagious and Armin couldn’t help but smile back, even if Armin was wise enough to hide his skepticism. Armin's thoughts conflicted with the words that escaped him.

“Thanks guys...”

* * *

 

Mikasa watched the two silently, clutching onto the scarf wrapped about her neck and dug her face into its fabric.

 _Eren..._ If he could only understand. If she could only find the way to describe her thoughts. _If only_. She had frowned slightly at his enthusiasm. She knew it had been Armin that had first introduced him to the idea. She didn't hate him for it, not at all. In fact, she held Armin close, closer than she had let most. Without a doubt, she was frightened at the idea. Outside the forest was where the Vagabond teemed.

What if Armin was turned?

What if _Eren_ was turned?

Her skin tingled. She suddenly felt sick then.

“Mikasa?” Armin's voice was distant, and strange. “Are you okay? You seem a little sick.” She nodded curtly, subtly.

“I'm fine, Armin.” It was Armin's turn to frown. She watched his twist with the worry, making him appear strange for that fleeting moment. He appeared somewhat feminine, his face softer appearing than most of the other boys their age, his frame much more willow-like and bony. Even his style of dress, a dingy, light blue vest that sat over the top of his white undershirt and plain pants made him seem a ways weaker than he actually turned out to be. It was a shame he bought into it.

“Mikasa, Armin almost misses nothing.” Eren had chimed in now. Armin's face had gone red at the praise.

“Well, er—I think that's grave overestimation in my opinion...” Mikasa remained like stone but Eren's voice had fired up.

“Oh, shut up Armin!” He gave the boy a playful punch in the arm and another one of his wide grins. “No one knows you like me and Mikasa, right?” Armin nodded timidly in response.  
“Well... I guess that's true, but don't you think—” Eren cut Armin off in his excitement again, and Mikasa made sure to cut him off.

“Don't overwhelm him, Eren.” He turned to her with a huff.

“I was only trying to let him know.”

“Still,” Mikasa retorted. “There's no need to do it so abrasively.” Eren's eyes softened with understanding. He could be extraordinarily dense at times. Of course, Mikasa would've preferred that any day over his constant recklessness.

Her hands were sweating still. Had the thought of the both of them being turned really made her sick? She swallowed the nauseous feeling rising in her throat. She felt Armin's eyes on her a second time, this time with Eren's. She had expected Armin to say something but was slightly surprised when Eren spoke up first.

“Mikasa, you really don't look well...” Eren's concern made her smile inwardly. It was rare that she even saw or heard him worry about her. He was so driven about proving himself as being the protector, it was hard for him to look at Mikasa as anything else but superhuman.

He was maddeningly jealous.

“Mikasa,” he reiterated, and her eyes lit up with attention. Reality had been running from her, she realized. “Are you okay?” His eyes had reaffirmed themselves. His face was tightened into impassiveness like hers, but she could see the emotion nearly bursting from his eyes.

“I'm fine, Eren. Don't worry about me. I'm the one who's—” She stopped short. She was going to say “who's to protect you”, but she had quickly thought otherwise. For a third time, she looked at Armin, whose face had changed, darkened with observation. “I think it'd be better to ask Armin if he thinks something is wrong,” she said blandly. Eren made a protestant face. Mikasa ignored him, and kept her eyes on Armin which had eventually guided Eren's attention to him as well. But Armin was soon flipping through the pages of his yellowed book with the utmost of urgency, a look of sheer terror on his face. It made the sick feeling in Mikasa's stomach intensify. Eren voiced out the emotion that she couldn't. His voice was riddled with a thin layer of panic and confusion.

“Armin, what's wrong? Hey, Armin! Stop making that face!” The other boy didn't seem to hear him and continued to rush through the pages, his fingertips coming to rest on a certain page, and a small excerpt under another diagram of one of the Vagabond, hunched over a human with a bunch of smaller marginal notes taken all over the page. Mikasa remained quiet. Eren tried again. “Armin!”

The blondes voice was low and he turned slowly to Mikasa.

“Mikasa, you might not see it, but you don't look well. You look pallid and clammy.”

“But I _am_ fine,” she refuted. “There was nothing wrong with me before we came out to the farming fields. I even carried Eren over my shoulder here.” Those words earned her an indignant glare from Eren, but his immediate displeasure was the least of her worries. “What's wrong?”

“The Vagabond came about roughly 100 years ago and just about have the appearance of a normal person outside of the excess appendages...”

“The tails, horns, bladed teeth and all the rest, right?” Eren finished for him. Armin nodded.

“The excerpt at the bottom of the diagram states that in the presence of Vagabond, certain effects may take place. Nausea, massive migraines, and feverish behavior are the most common, but death and madness aren't entirely impossible either...” Mikasa furrowed her brow.

“Armin, are you implying that they may have crossed the forest?” Armin was shaking with shallow rigid breaths.

“I-it's a possibility. The data in this book is a little old, but it states that Vagabond are best able to draw their strengths by feeding off of each others direct demonic presence. Maybe they refuse to cross the forest because of its density.” Armin attempted to steady his breathing.

“Then what are you so worried about, Armin?” Armin swallowed nervously.

“Eren, you don't understand. The demonic symptoms can only affect a human if they're within 50 feet. The Barrier Forest stretches far beyond that, at least quadruple distance.” Understanding dawned on the both of them.

“Then that means they're in the forest...” They turned to the forest and stared for what seemed like an eternity but nothing ever came.

Eren was the first to let his tightened breath.

And he was the only one to do so.

* * *

  
One of them had finally emerged, and it felt as though they had all frozen. Its eyes were impossibly dark and blacker than even the most focused of obsidian. Its teeth were bared as it crouched on all fours, climbing slowly, terrifyingly to its feet. It was staring directly at the three of them, at _Eren_. It had been difficult to see the wings at first. They expanded, seeming large enough to envelop the human body in between, appearing like a ragged curtain. It was a wonder to the three of them as to how the demon could manage flight at all. “They” had once been a “she”, and the demonic blood made use of its feminine qualities. Eren watched as the tail came into view, swishing slowly, tastefully to and fro. It wrapped around her body, which was clad in almost nothing except for what seemed to be solidified darkness that trailed over her breasts and womanhood . The demon had ran a single claw through its shimmering blonde hair, reflecting the sun's light. She remained in position in such a way that it could only be described as alluring by a man.

Eren felt thundering in his chest. His father, Grisha, came to his mind. The pounding in his heart was a familiar kind of feeling.

_Rage._

He had heard one of the farmer yell something, more than likely a warning to everyone else to flee.The demons wing snapped outwards and she rushed for her nearest target. Eren hadn't even heard his own steps or the movement of his feet.

_I'll make them pay. I'll slaughter them!_

His collar of his tunic dug into his neck and he felt the seems stretch a little. Mikasa's red scarf brushed at his nose then as he registered the jabbing of her shoulder into his gut. He didn't even make an attempt to struggle. He had saw, for the first time, the beings that had taken his father from him. He was angry, pissed off in every sense of the word. He wanted to tear the one demon he had seen limb from limb in any way that he could. Except...

He had felt a certain kind of helplessness. He was a child. He was nine years old. If his father, who was supposedly commended for his sword skills, had been eaten by the very same monsters, then what chance did that give him? Was he really so weak? He turned his attention to Mikasa. She had him hoisted over her shoulder firmly and tugged Armin along, all the while keeping her stride. She was strong. She was very strong, like his mother. Stronger than him and it had made him jealous.

_I'm supposed to be protecting you..._

He felt indignation and he felt that same thundering in his chest. He glanced up to see if he could find the same demoness that had shown up before the three of them. The Barrier Forest had shifted, and where a culmination of trees and floral life had once been entangled, a clean clearing was now present, and the Vagabond swarmed outwards and into the Shiganshina farmlands. He had seen not just the farmers, but their children and wives ripped apart and eaten indiscriminately; some of them were just killed for sport. Others were turned. He watched the dismemberment of every human he laid eyes on and the image of their limbs grated between demon fangs made him sick. The eyes of the fallen were also scorched into his mind and had been either wide with disbelief and pain or awash with a tearful resignation.

And that had only been the farmlands awash with blood. It was only a matter of time before they would spread into the residential districts.

The booming in his chest resigned to a subtle thrum, and he only managed a weak protest.

“Mikasa...let me go... I can fight...” Mikasa in turn had said nothing, and instead kept herself and Armin moving forward.


End file.
